Just one moment
by Hugo Reed
Summary: They often say that just one small moment can change the fate of history. One fact of one ship. That’s all that changed Anakin Skywalker’s life. Only one thing changed: Padme didn’t fall out of this ship. Anakin X Ahsoka. Adopted by Orange Sora.
1. The Clone Wars Begin

Just One Moment:

By: Hugo Reed

Chapter 1: The Clone Wars

_18:29_

_The skies of Geonosis_

_The beginning of the Clone Wars_

The skies flashed with bombs and lazers that passed within only feet of the wings or cockpit of their dropship. However, as jedi, Anakin and Obi-wan were perfectly calm and collected, giving instructions with logic. The clone troopers had their military disipline behind them, but Padme was far less calm. Anakin could feel her fear seeping through himself. He swore to himself that he would protect her. Suddenly a speeder flashed past them and time seemed to slow down purely for Anakin as he saw Dooku on the little machine. His heart raced as he called to the trooper.

"It's Dooku! Shoot him down!"

"We're out of rockets, sir!"

_Damn, _thought the young padawan. _We'll just have to do this the hard way._

"Then follow him!"

The clone trooper nodded in affirmation. Obi-wan glanced at Anakin, but chose not to comment on his padawan's obvious eagerness. Padme however was thinking about something else altogether. Before she even spoke, Anakin knew the primary thought in her mind was to make sure that he was alright.

"We have to go get help!"

"There's no time," said Obi-wan. "Anakin and I can handle this!"

Anakin glanced as his master, stunned. Obi-wan had occasionally given him some praise or other for some new thing he had learned, but it was always heavy-handed and somehow felt empty to the young one. He just somehow felt that maybe Obi-wan didn't really believe what he was saying. However, that short comment meant that his master truly trusted him in battle. To let someone know that you truly, honestly trust you with their life… What higher praise could he receive than that?

Anakin smiled lightly. Yes, they could handle this. They had to, otherwise Dooku would find a way to escape. His gripped tightened around the barrowed lightsaber. It was strange, and practically foreign in his hands. However, an unfamiliar lightsaber would be better than none at all. As they closed down on the hanger where Dooku would be undoubtedly waiting, Anakin turned to Padme.

"Stay on this ship," he said.

"No."

"Padme," he whispered. "If you go in, you'll only be a target for Dooku. I can't fight him at my best if you're in there, in danger."

She stared at him, struggling to find some way to combat that statement, but for all her cleverness in politics, she could think of nothing to say. She couldn't, no matter how badly she wanted to, deny that his words made perfect sense. He was right, and she had to leave.

"Fine," she whispered. "But come back to me."

"Don't worry about me."

"Anakin," said Obi-wan, igniting his lightsaber and pointing at the open hatchway. "Let's go!"

"Right behind you master!"

Anakin ignited his own green blade and ran right behind Obi-wan, whose own blade was shining through the darker room. Just as Anakin had thought, Dooku was waiting for them. It was Dooku who spoke first to the two jedi in his deep, and powerful voice. The voice of the sith.

"Took you time, didn't you?"

"Let's move together," said Obi-wan. "Go in on—"

"No, I'm taking him now!"

Ignoring Obi-wan's protests, Anakin ran right a Dooku, charging with the same fury that had fueled his power against the tusken raiders. However, Dooku gave the boy a small smile and as Anakin charged him Dooku shot lightning at him, but Anakin knew he had promised to go back to Padme. His green lightsaber swung up and caught the lightning. So Dooku extended his own in a hurry and the two entered the elegant dance of a lightsaber duel.

Anakin struck low at Dooku's feet, but with a flick of the wrist, the old man parried the blow. Sparks flew everywhere as the center of the two beams crossed. Dooku twisted his blade the opposite way and Anakin's blade was almost wrenched from his hands. Then, Dooku brought his blade in close to his body again. Anakin knew what was going to happen before he would do anything about it. Dooku came at him again, and his blade was pointing uselessly at the ground. He started to bring it up, but even by backing his arms with the force, he was too slow.

The scarlet blade moved faster and faster and suddenly, a light-blue blade blocked the blow.

"Dammit Anakin!" said Obi-wan. "When shall you listen to me?!"

"Sorry master."

Anakin trust his blade at Dooku's feet and the sith flipped over them. Obi-wan was an exceptional jedi and swordsman, and Anakin could've rivaled master Windu in battle, but Dooku had one key thing going for him. He was no ordinary swordsmen, he was sticking to an extremely old style. It was much closer the fencing than the random strikes of chops that most jedi had resorted to from the need to deflect blaster bolts. Dooku had always stubbornly held on to it, and in a lightsaber duel it paid off.

Even working together, combining their most powerful moves, neither Anakin nor Obi-wan could punch a dent in Dooku's defenses. However, they refused to give up. Anakin slash at Dooku from up and over his head, but Dooku re-angled his blade and blocked, not only Anakin's blow, but Obi-wan's attack as well. Anakin yanked the saber back and struck at a different point. Again and again his was blocked and trust aside. Obi-wan and Anakin both leapt back at the same time. Obi-wan brought his blade up straight to his shoulder, and pointed it at Dooku.

Anakin spread his feet apart at shoulder width, and held his blade vertically in the center of his body. The air was so incredibly thick with tension that Anakin swore he could no longer breath properly. He looked for a weak spot, an opening inside of Dooku's defense. He saw none.

"Fine," he muttered, almost to himself. "Fine. If I know one thing, it's this. Where there is no hole in the defense, you must make one."

That being addressed, Anakin looked over at Obi-wan and nodded. As soon as Obi-wan nodded back, Anakin ran forward screaming. Power flowed through him and he struck several times at Dooku, and as Obi-wan aided his strikes, Dooku lost his smile and was beginning to be driven back. Even though Neither jedi could hit the man, they worked together to drive him backwards. Then Anakin acted again. He did it almost without thinking, and without even knowing how he did it. As Dooku moved back again, he was forced to stop cold.

Anakin had made him stop as though he'd hit a brick wall. For a long moment, Dooku seemed to be in shock. Then, slowly, realization came to his eyes. He smiled lightly as the jedi withdrew again. Then he spoke in that deep voice again. Again, he spoke in the way of the sith.

"You have unusual powers young padawan, but you're very, very foolish."

"I do tend to be a slow learner."

Obi-wan then struck, but Dooku gave a quick whirl of his blade and skimmed both Obi-wan's legs, causing him to fall down hard. His head hit the floor, and he passed out. Anakin grimaced and called Obi-wan's abandoned lightsaber to his own left hand. Then he went forward in a whole new level of ability. For the second time, Dooku's little smile vanished, and it was replaced by a terrible scowl. He struggled now, but not it was _he _who couldn't break through _Anakin's _defenses. Sparks flew down onto the floor and it hit a lot of machinery.

However, Dooku was clever and precise. So, he finally managed to destroy one of Anakin's lightsaber, and while the youth was staring down at it in some amount of despair, Dooku parted the whole lower arm from the rest of the limb. Anakin yelled in pain and Dooku slammed him backwards towards Obi-wan with the force. He struggled to stay awake, but the pain was beginning to overwhelm him. Finally, the world of blackness overtook him and sent him down into the darkness.

"Anakin."

The voice, he knew it.

"Anakin, come on."

Obi-wan.

"Please, Padme may be in trouble!"

Anakin instantly forced himself to sit up and open his eyes. He came to a staggering stance and looked around. Master Yoda was there. Perhaps other jedi too, he didn't care. He grabbed the lightsaber that hadn't been destroyed and dashed out the way they'd come in. A fierce sky battle was going on between a dropship and some droid ships. It took Anakin only a second to understand. Padme was on that ship. He felt it through the force and tried as hard as he could to defend the ship, as much as with his own will as with the force.

However, the force wasn't with him, or it wasn't listening to his calls. The blaster blots kept flying within inches of the ship. Then, three fully charged shots hit the back of the ship, setting it aflame. Then the ship fell down to the surface, scraping the ground and flinging several troopers out of the ship. Anakin noticed one thing, Padme did not. He quickly leapt down to the ship and ignited the blade while running to the burning ship. Before he even got within a quarter-mile of it, a large explosion rocked the whole area. Anakin's heart stopped cold.

It couldn't have happened. It couldn't be true. Panicking, Anakin used the force to increase his speed to blinding heights. He grabbed a clone trooper by the front of his armor and angrily yanked the man up to his own eye-level and shook him. His voice was a terrible rage.

"WAS PADME ON THAT SHIP!"

The clone trooper almost looked away, and nodded. Anakin almost threw him off of himself before running all the way to the ship and hacking through the closed doors. Anakin quickly searched through the burnt corpses, and saw the remains of a droid blaster. It had been the one Padme was using. He looked at it and tears began to spill from his eyes. Tears of hate, and tears of pain. Anakin slowly let himself fall to the sandy ground. The burned blaster fell to the ground, as much a gravestone as Padme would receive. Anakin stood and looked up at the two ships.

"You killed her," he said in his low and soft voice. "I can only begin to return the favor on the whole army."

Then, Obi-wan landed next to his padawan learner.

"Anakin," he said hesitantly, carefully.

In a flash, Anakin was up on his feet and running straight up the side of a plateau. With his left hand, he ignited the green blade with which he would bring destruction to any that crossed his path. The ship came flying back around towards him and he leapt right at it. Anakin parried three bolts and then landed on the ship itself, then plunged the lightsaber into the ship all the way to the hilt. He drew it back out and almost flew to the second ship. He landed near the central engine system and cut them off in his furry.

The ship went spiraling out of control towards the surface of the planet. Calling on the force to keep from being shaken to death or passing out, Anakin let himself let go at just the right moment to be sent skidding across the ground and reduce any worse damage he would've taken from the fall. Then he stood and ran towards the distant outskirts of battle, his new green blade ready for battle. He was more then ready for battle though, he was craving a full-blown war. Little did he know that just what he would be getting over the next three years.

Obi-wan and Yoda watch him anxiously. Each knew for a fact the other felt it. They both felt the pit of rage and hate and fear that had become Anakin Skywalker.


	2. Master and Padawan

Just One Moment:

By: Hugo Reed

Chapter 2: Master and Padawan

_03:42_

_Megetto_

_Under Three Years into the Clone Wars_

The snow blew softly over the destroyed bridges and buildings of Megetto. The sun was, as usual, hidden behind several large clouds. Anakin Skywalker stood his new padawan learner. Ahsoka looked up at him with pride, and admiration. She originally hadn't respected him any more than an ordinary human. However, through they're work in the war together they had began to go to understand just how good the other was, and respect had grown between them. Now, Anakin trusted Ahsoka to think clearly and watch his back when needed, and he trusted her.

Their bond had grown so strong that he would kill for her, and die to keep her safe. Ahsoka smiled lightly and looked around at the battlefield.

"I still say orbital bombardment would've been useful," she said.

"We need—"

"The bug alive. I know Skyguy."

"Come on Snips. Let's go see how the troops are moving forward."

Ahsoka nodded and as Anakin began to walk away she made sure to stick to his side. She felt that it was as much her duty to protect him as to learn what he was teaching her. Most masters of the jedi code would've argued that to bring your learner into the heart of war was about as irresponsible as you could get. Anakin however was not a normal master and argued that the only way his apprentice would ever learn anything was through experience. Ahsoka just so happened to agree. When Anakin was in battle, it was as though he was whole new person.

He was like a machine of war, far more than any droid or even Gervious. Yet, in the times between attacking or defending, particularly when they were moving from planet to planet, she would hear a change in his voice. It was as though he were longing to have someone to love, but hated the idea of it all at once. She was worried about him, yet she couldn't voice that to him. He'd never accept her pity. It was just the way he was, and she had begun to accept that as fact. However, just because she knew he didn't want help didn't mean he didn't need it.

"Snips," called Anakin. "You coming?"

"Right behind you Skyguy!"

Anakin walked slightly hunched over, as though some great weight down upon him. Ahsoka knew she intended to find out why. However, she would have to be careful with this, slow and tactful that was the way to do it. Too bad that just wasn't at all her style of approach.

"Hey Skyguy?" she asked. "Can I talk to you a sec?"

"Sure," he said, sounding very tired. "Talk."

"I was just wondering back on Tatooine…"

At the name of the planet, he turned to her. In his eyes there was the pain and the hurt of a man driven insane. Ahsoka's nerve failed her for a moment. Instead she asked a throwaway question, just to open up.

"I heard you actually were worried about me, and wanted to make sure I was ok after you fought Dooku."

Now, the deadened eyes livened up a little, and a humorous laugh echoed from him.

"Where'd you hear that from Snips?"

"Master Obi-wan."

"Well," he said, the smile leaving his face almost as quickly as it had come. "Maybe I was worried about you. You are my padawan after all."

She smiled at him. Her whole reason behind even becoming a padawan was to prove that she wasn't too young for jedi training. She wasn't the youngest learner, but at fourteen she was supposed to have another couple years before being assigned a personal master. Something else struck her.

"When did you start your jedi training?"

"I was trained personally by Obi-wan when I was nine."

"What?!"

She was flabbergast. What a hypocrite!

"So how come you said I was too young to be your learner?"

Anakin looked at her a put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"There are several reasons Snips. I advanced very quickly through my training, but I was very foolish through most of it. I didn't listen to my master, ever. In the end, it cost me more than I could ever pay."

Ahsoka stared at him, almost scared.

"What do you mean?"

He smiled grimly and it transformed his face into a hollow of pain again.

"You never asked me what happened the day I lost my arm."

She stared down at his right limb. That thick black glove had long been the wonder of her imagination with her master. She looked up at him, slightly scared.

"What happened?"

"Ahsoka," he said slowly. "I… haven't ever wanted to tell this story, but it will help you to know, so bare with me."

Ahsoka froze. Her master had never once called her by name. She looked at him and tears were starting to come from his eyes. She looked into his pain, into his heart. Skywalker was human, and she was allowed to see. That was something she doubted many, if even a few others could say.

"You know I was raised primarily on Tatooine. I grew up knowing and loving my mother. I cared about her more than almost anyone else. Only Obi-wan matched her and…"

She saw a name near his lips, but they didn't exit them.

"Anyway," he said. "When I was on a defense mission, I felt my mother dying through the force. In desperation I took a ship to Tatooine. When I landed, I learned she had been taken by the Tuskins. They are what you might know as sand people and more animals than any true life-form."

Here, his voice broke, and she saw three of his crystal tears fall and hit the top of his boots.

"I found her there. She died only a moment afterwards."

She reached up slowly, and placed her hand gently upon his own left one. That was enough to snap him out of his trance enough to continue.

"What happened next?"

"I… I killed them all. I turned on a blade of hate and gave my body to rage. I slaughtered them helplessly. Not just their men—only their men fight—but their women and their children as well. I can remember one in particular. I kicked down his hut and he was a child. I'm not sure, but I think he was crying. In fact if there was a way to check, scientists would've agreed. After all, I took his parents from him too. Then I beheaded him angrily. I was just so hurt, and so in pain. I can't explain what happened."

Ahsoka looked at him, and he was crying freely. Ahsoka didn't know why she did it, but she knew he needed help. She offered what little bit she could by wrapping her arms around his shoulders lightly. He looked up at her and whipped his face off. Then he looked at her.

"You probably think I'm weak now. I gave into hatred, and now you've seen me cry from a memory I'd never want to have again."

She shook her head.

"It's ok," she said softly. "You were deeply attached to someone who left. It happens to other jedi too. Just like when some padawans lose their masters and fall into the darkness. You're a very strong person Anakin."

"That's not all," he whispered. "There was a woman. Padme. I met her at nine and always thought she would be the one I would marry. I loved her more than anyone. But Dooku's pawns killed her. That's why I even choose to get involved in this war. I thought I could get my revenge on everyone who'd killed her. I whipped out almost their entire Geonosin catacombs in one night. I fell into hate and rage again and now, after three years… I don't know if I'm just stuck being more war tool than man. I'm scared, Ahsoka, scared of myself."

She hugged him closer to her, on impulse. He was her master after all; she had to prove to him that she was there for him.

"I have constantly had to think about what I did to things that couldn't block themselves from my attack, and wondered what it would be like if the roles were reversed."

Rex suddenly came running up to Anakin.

"Sir," he said gruffly. "We've got an attack up by the front line."

Anakin whipped his face for quickly and turned to Rex, in a face of iron determination. Then his blade seemed to leap into his hand as he ignited it.

"Come on, Snips!" he called back.

Ahsoka sighed as she unclipped her own deep green blade. She was happy to be moving again but was slightly upset at their interpreted conversation.

"He was just beginning to open up too," she muttered to herself. "Oh well, duty first, he would say."

Then, Ahsoka saw the size of the attack and froze. Four long line of tanks lead the droids and behind them was seemingly infinite line of battle droids. Anakin swore softly then leapt up high into the fray. Blaster blots flew at him quickly, but he redirected them back at the droid and made the tank shots his own weapon. Then, Ahsoka turned her attention to keeping herself alive. She ran inbetween two lines of tanks, slashing quickly left and right, then ran into the battle droids as several of the tanks exploded. She smiled lightly.

Despite his past and master Yoda's warnings, Anakin was a fine teacher, and a better friend. Then several bolts flew at her and she angled her blade to the left to deflect them, then two more came at her back and—knowing her blade wouldn't make it—she held up her hand to make sure the lasers wouldn't hurt her. However, she did something wrong, and the force barrier slipped, causing the blot to burn her hand badly. Then several droids pointed their blasters at her. She held up her saber with her left hand, prepared to even die fighting.

Instead, a cry of rage flowed across the battlefield, and Anakin barrel-rolled through four droids and made great sweeping slices behind her, severing droids in half. Then one droid fired and two blots caught her unaware. Her hip and left leg burned just as her hand did. Crying out in pain, she dropped her saber by accident and Anakin turned, moving quicker then the wind to defend her. The droids turned their blazing weapons upon her master, but it was as though the lasers flew back at their master's of their own accord.

After dismantling many, he picked her up quickly and leapt back behind troopers. He instantly yelled for some bacta and took a look at her leg, hip and hand.

"Are you ok?" he asked, worry in his tone. "Stay still! Don't move at all."

He placed his right arm upon her injuries and began to pump some of the force into her body, making the muscles speed up and knit themselves together faster. She gasped lightly, as it was far from pleasant. She noticed two things in particular. One was that her master's hand was not human. The second, and something that grieved her, was that Anakin had small tears in his eyes again.

"Come on," he whispered. "Stay with me here Snips."

Then the trooper arrived with the bacta and spread it over her injuries. The burning stopped and she could relax a little as the world flew into clearer focus. She saw Anakin hovering over her, still worried.

"Hey," she said. "Don't look so worried Skyguy. If you keep doing things like this, I'll begin to think you actually like me."

He smiled lightly.

"Don't get full of yourself, you'll just be too annoying to have to cremate properly here. What with the snow and all."

She leaned back, then tried to stand. A metallic hand halted her.

"Stay here," he said. "You got careless, and as far as today at least, you can't do anymore. Rex!"

At his command, the trooper came over to her and looked at Anakin.

"Make sure she is safe, and if she's hurt I'll have your head for it."

Rex nodded and Ahsoka looked at him.

"Stay safe, Snips."

Just like that, he was gone, leaping right back into the battle. Rex turned to her.

"You should consider yourself lucky, he doesn't like most people."

"Funny enough," she said. "I think he's trying not to grow attached to anyone."

"Isn't that what you jedi do though? Make sure you love and care for nothing, I mean?"

Ahsoka smiled a little wider and said, "Some of us do that, in fact most of us do. However, the others fight for people, and it makes us stronger. After all just check out Skyguy over there."

She pointed to where Anakin was tearing droids apart, not in hate, but in desire to keep them from reaching her, and he didn't fail.


	3. Kidnapping

Just One Moment:

By: Hugo Reed

Chapter 3: Kidnapping

_11:23_

_Head Jedi Temple_

_Last Month of the Clone Wars_

Anakin slowly walked around the everlasting twists and turns within the jedi temple. The night upon Corusant was nice and cool, and if he hadn't been so tired, he would've enjoyed it. But he was tired, and sleep would not come to him. If it ever did, dreams would begin to haunt him. They were always one of two things. Padme's death, or an imagined one of Ahsoka. Anakin had to admit he'd grown very fond of her and would've died to keep her safe, but that was normal. After all, she was his padawan learner, if only a short while longer.

"Up late again?" interpreted a voice. "I don't know how you can still fight at all. You haven't slept more than three hours a night ever since the war began."

Anakin turned to Obi-wan.

"Longer than that," said Anakin. "It was from the time dreams of my mother came to me."

"Oh," said his old master. "Of course, I remember. Tell me, how have you been, raising Ahsoka?"

"She has been headstrong, and hasty, but she has began to listen to what I have to say. Also she's twice had to replace her lightsaber so far. However, overall she is close to becoming a very capable jedi. She's so force-strong that I think she may even rival me one day."

Obi-wan grinned lightly.

"Strange that _you _tell all this now. Do you remember how many lightsabers you have to make?"

Anakin thought back to his padawan learner days.

"Five wasn't it?"

"Yes, and how many times did you not only ignore me, but do exactly what I told you not to."

"That's different," said Anakin. "You were almost always wrong."

The two laughed a little more. Anakin then asked Obi-wan about how he'd acted with Qui-gon-jinn. Obi-wan reveled something along the lines of being stubborn.

"But," he said. "I only ever had to make one lightsaber in my apprenticeship."

Anakin grinned lightly, and thought about how his padawan had lost her second blade, in the heat of the chase.

_01:08_

_Polis Mossa_

_Last Year of the Clone Wars._

_Anakin looked at the approaching army with a clarity no normal man possessed. He was the Hero without Fear, the title of a jedi if there ever was one. Then his metallic arm slowly reached across his chest to his left hip, and wrapped around the handle of his lightsaber. The metal hit metal and clinked. Anakin reached to his shoulder and tossed off his cloak and vest, which were burned and mere strips of clothing. While the rest of his attire was in tatters as well, he could now move freely. Anakin took one more quick look around._

_There were no troopers. There was no other machinery that could operate to save him. He merely had his skill in battle, and his lightsaber. At such a thought, Anakin smiled grimly. If droids had feelings, he would've felt sorry for them. However, they did not, and as such, he felt nothing._

_He loosed a terrible war cry and flung himself into battle. Blasters loosed lasers and they pulsed through the air around him. Then, he ignited his plasma-blue blade and landed heavily on his feet, now bare. All the droids refocused their target sensors, but Anakin was already moving through them, slicing left and right as he went. Metal and circlet wires crashed into the snow at his feet. Then the blots came at him again, but he was quick and hid behind the slower or destroyed droids, slicing others down with ease all the while._

_Anakin knew the only reason he'd been upgraded to jedi already was because of the war, but that didn't mean he wasn't more accomplished than almost any other jedi. As Obi-wan had put it, he just needed a little more mental growing. Having a padawan was supposed to help him do that._

"_Speaking of padawans…"_

_Anakin glanced up at the main control tower of the current army. It pulsed with terrible electricity, and was the main center of their mechanical problem. Of course, as sheer habit would have it, Ahsoka was already was right on top of the tower, chasing a fleeing Titarion. The little blue-winged creature was making a fair headway towards his ship, and Ahsoka was in danger of missing. Anakin attempted to leap up and help her, but droids were right in his face, and keeping ground-bound. He cut down two separate battle droids._

"_Give it up jedi."_

_Anakin turned to the droid with the commanding voice and blasted large waves of them back and off of the bridge they fought upon. Anakin was trapped behind the lines of fire and droids and couldn't get to his padawan, not yet anyway. He spun and a quick ciricle, dropping low and taking several of the metal legs from their owners. Then, something clinked by his head and he turned to see Ahsoka's month-old lightsaber bouncing off the bridge. Moving in as quick as he could, he raised his organic hand. The blade stopped and flew towards his palm._

_However, the droids weren't done with him yet. They fired at him rapidly and caused him to parry the bolts. The sad effect of this was that his hand was not where it needed to be to catch Ahsoka's new golden blade. Anakin swore to himself as it went spinning off the lip of the bridge, as though it were a perfectly round disk. Then Anakin glanced up again to see his padawan wrestling enthusiastically with the Titarion and his guards. Anakin attached his lightsaber to his left hip and blasted the ground around in a twenty meter radius with the force._

_Droid parts were sent flying and several were blasted clean off their mechanical feet. Anakin, however, was already high up in the sky and rapidly approaching his padawan. Just as their target pulled out an P-43 ionizer blaster, Anakin landed in front of him and cut forward just far enough to melt the end of the ionizer together. Of course, the Titarion's brain hadn't yet caught up and he pulled the trigger, causing the blaster to explode in a fit of sparks in his hands. Anakin pointed his own weapon at the creature's neck, and he surrendered._

Anakin glanced behind Obi-wan, wondering just where is strange little padawan was now. He looked at Obi-wan, who was not forthcoming, so Anakin put the question directly to him.

"Where is Ahsoka now? Still asleep?"

"No she's with the chancellor."

"What for?" asked Anakin. "Is he punishing her for something? Her missions have been flawless so—"

"Nothing like that," said Obi-wan. "There's been a possible threat from Grevious."

Anakin stared at him in horror.

"Why didn't you tell me?" his voice was full of worry. "Obi-wan?"

"Sorry," he said softly. "I didn't think it was legitimate, in fact Palpatine himself is only having a guard as a formality."

However, only one part of this statement reached the anxious young man.

"_A _guard? As in _one _guard? Dammit!"

Anakin's hands flew to his lightsaber and his was already sprinting to his ship. Obi-wan stared after him, thinking that he should wake Masters Yoda and Windu.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…"

Anakin panted lightly as he finally found his personalized starfighter. He flung the window open and hopped into the pilot's seat, starting up the engine. Then he took off and flew at full speed towards the chancellor's main lobby. At this late hour, few were flying about, but Anakin still had a great many of displeased humans and humanoids who complained about how poor his piloting was. Anakin ignored them leapt high out of the ship before it had even landed properly. Anakin kept running right through the building up to Papatine's office.

As he came through the doorway of an elevator, he saw the droid of a man carrying both his padawan and the chancellor on his back. Anakin swore and felt several other jedi wake suddenly as blasters fired outside. It appeared the droids had just landed and were fighting troopers. Anakin leapt on the train-link that the droid-like being had disappeared onto and Ahsoka called out to him through the force.

_Anakin?_

Her voice sounded far too weak for his own liking.

"Ahsoka!" he yelled. "Hang on! I'm coming."

He ignited his familiar blade and quickly cut a wide circle in the back of the cart. Calling upon the force, he ran so fast through the compartments that tears flew from his blue eyes. As he neared the last train cart, he began to spin his metal hand quickly back and forth as fast as he could. Kicking through the last door, Anakin bellowed his loudest war cry and, purely by chance, hit Grevious with his foot. The general backed away behind his guards.

"Interesting," said Anakin, readying his blade. "I guess a droid_ can _feel fear of death."

Grevious coughed harshly.

"_Kill him!_"

Anakin looked at which of the two would move first, and saw the one on his left move just a half-second sooner. Giving himself to battle, Anakin blocked first left than right. He cut through one side of both of their weapons. The droids actually seemed to be stunned for a second. That second was all that he needed. With two quick strikes, he sliced them in half vertically, and by the time their metal remains clattered against the ground, he'd already locked sabers with the general droid. Ahsoka quickly took up on the oppurtinity to grab her blade.

Her blue-green lightsaber flashed in the compartment and moved to rescue the chancellor, but Greivous managed to keep her at bay, and surprised her by using his extra arms. One of his big metallic hands caught Ahsoka by the neck and threw her quickly out the open door of the compartment and right in front of the rear wheels of the train. Anakin was moving faster than he could've even had time to think. He reached forward with all the speed his body could gather up, even calling on the force to save his padawan. He reached forward and their hands connected.

Anakin pulled upward so quick that the metal gears in his hand squealed in protest, and Ahsoka flew into him, pressing the both of them just close enough to the wall to avoid being flattened by the train. Anakin looked down at Ahsoka and she looked up, shaking terribly.

"You alright?"

She nodded and sat down hugging her knees close to her body. Anakin looked back at the far-off train. He swore and began to chase after it. Even with the force backing his legs, Anakin was barely making any progress on catching the train. Then, two droids landed in front of them. Never slowing down for a second, he cut them down with this blue-plasma blade and continued running. Soon, the outside tunnel vanished and they were running several hundreds of miles above the ground of the city-planet.

The wind pounded in his ears, and made his eyes sting and water. He saw that the train was rapidly approaching a very large ship. Anakin already knew that he would never make it in time. He stopped almost cold and sank to his knees. He failed and had allowed Gervious to get away Palpatine in his metal hands. Anakin pounded his fist into the ground in anger. He was still too slow, even after all his years of training. Would he ever be able to save people who were in danger? He let himself fall into a slight depression and heard something off to his right.

"Hey Sky-guy, lying down on the job?"

Anakin let a very small smile cross his face. Then he flipped over the lip of the rail and landed in the co-pilot's seat. Closing the window, Anakin turned to Ahsoka.

"What would I do without you?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said. "Luckily, neither of us should have to find out for a little while."

He dropped his smile and put his hands on the control.

"Give me full manual controls," Anakin said. "Track the ship in quadrant… C-4.2!"

The ship identification screen went off and Anakin slammed on the accelerator.


End file.
